A Snowy Leafbare
by Rainwhisker
Summary: Leafbare is always cold and prey is always scarce. But this time, heavy snowstorms may destory the forest. What will the warriors do? This story is about Riverstar's parents, Dapplefur and Eagleclaw when they were apprentices.
1. Chapter 1

Dapplepaw's POV

Frozen blazes of the freezing snow shot into the trees like arrows piercing a hard stone wall, as the wind sung its mournful song. The wind was fiercely blowing the trees, causing the last leaves to drift into the river. The river's currents were swift, and the dirt on the forest floor danced into the river, making the clear blue water turn a mucky brown.

Prey was always scarce at this time of year, as they want to burrow deep into the ground, warm and safe from the cold, powerful leafbare blizzards. All the prey was quivering with fear. With prey so scarce, none of the cats in the forest could ever survive.

Dapplepaw was curled up in her den as she watched the whole forest shake. She could feel the same sorrow the forest that the forest was experiencing. Although many had given up hope, and thought that StarClan had abandoned them, Dapplepaw was certain that StarClan would always be with them.

"Hey, Dapplepaw!"

Dapplepaw looked up. There, right in front of her, an enormous dark tabby whom unpleasantly reminded her of Tigerstar. Tigerstar was a treacherous and ambitious cat that everyone feared and hated. She blinked. Dapplepaw saw that it was not Tigerstar standing in front of her, but it was Eaglekit.

"Eaglekit?"

"Actually, I'm Eagle_paw_ now," Eaglepaw mewed as he dipped his head in greeting. "I just became an apprentice, so I thought I would come here to tell you."

"But you live _here_ now," Dapplepaw said.

Eaglepaw stared at her.

"Er…I know that," Eaglepaw said awkwardly.

"So who's your mentor?" Dapplepaw asked. She didn't know why it was so hard for her to speak to Eaglepaw.

"Kinktail," he replied tersely.

"But – but Kinktail – he only became a warrior two days ago!" Dapplepaw exclaimed.

"I know," the dark tabby apprentice replied. "But perhaps Lionstar thinks Kinktail is ready to become a mentor."

Dapplepaw opened her mouth to speak, but something stopped her. Perhaps Eaglepaw was right. Maybe Kinktail _was_ the best choice for a mentor.

**Sorry about this chapter. I wrote it when I was supposed to be doing my math homework. The next chapters will get better and longer.**

**EDIT: Guess what? My teacher loved this story and couldn't wait until the next chapter! Isn't that kewl? **


	2. Chapter 2

The blizzards had stopped, but the river that marked the boundary between MistClan and FireClan territory had been frozen into solid ice. The trees were bare, and they were all covered with the crisp, white snow.

Some of the prey was out of their burrows again, searching for food. But none of the prey knew that another powerful storm – just like the one before – would leave them starving and fighting for food.

Eaglepaw sighed. He knew that it would be a long time before he could go hunting again. He longed to go hunting, but only warriors were allowed out of camp until thaw. He heaved another long sigh. It was going to be another long, boring day.

"Eaglepaw," whispered a familiar voice. "Are you bored?"

Eaglepaw know at once that the voice belonged to Dapplepaw, because she was the only other apprentice besides him.

"Yes. I want to go hunting," he replied.

"Me too, Dapplepaw said softly. "Go deliver a message to Whitefrost, you know, my mentor."

Eaglepaw looked at her confused. What was Dapplepaw talking about?

When she saw the puzzled look on Eaglepaw's face, Dapplepaw explained, "If you're _that_ desperate to go out and hunt, you can go tell Whitefrost that I want to go hunting with her. And if you see Kinktail there, ask him if you can go hunting. If he says no, go help Flashpelt. She's expecting kits, and since she can't move around easily, you'll be a great help to her. Ask her if she needs any help. At least you don't have to stay here all day."

"What about you?" Eaglepaw asked the pale, dappled she-cat.

"Oh, I'm fine," she replied. "I prefer being by myself anyways. I like having private time, so I can just think about stuff."

"Okay," Eaglepaw sighed. Did Dapplepaw not want to be his friend anymore? Since she just wanted to have some time with herself, he just left her alone and started toward the warrior's den.


	3. Chapter 3

Eaglepaw's POV

The bright, golden sun reflected upon the pure white snow, causing everything to cast a shadow on it. The cold, thick snow was piled up to a full-grown warrior's flank, making it almost impossible to run in.

Eaglepaw slowly but lightly padded toward the warriors' den, hoping to accomplish the task Dapplepaw had asked him to do.

As the warriors' den came into view, Eaglepaw saw two figures emerge from the den – Whitefrost and Kinktail. He decided to go and see what they were doing.

"Hello, Eaglepaw," Kinktail said. "Do you want to go hunting with Whitefrost and me?"

Eaglepaw thought about it for a minute. "Just us?" he asked.

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Whitefrost asked.

"Well, I just thought…Dapplepaw…"

"Dapplepaw? Dapplepaw? That filthy mouse brain?" Whitefrost exclaimed. "Dapplepaw cannot hunt. She can't even catch a dead mouse! Do you really want Dapplepaw to come? I don't think so! She'll ruin our hunting!"

Eaglepaw gasped. There, Dapplepaw's own mentor was insulting her! Whitefrost had seemed so nice to her, but when she wasn't around, … how could she? How could her own mentor hate her so much?

"Erm … no thanks," Eaglepaw said uneasily. "I promised Lionstar I'd look after Flashpelt in the nursery."

"Right," Whitefrost said sarcastically. "Then I guess I'll see you later."

With her head arched high, Whitefrost stalked away, out of the FireClan camp.

As Eaglepaw padded toward the nursery, he saw a bright golden tortoiseshell rush toward him. It was Goldenmoss, a FireClan queen.

"Eaglepaw! Eaglepaw!" she said breathlessly. "Eaglepaw, get Foxtail, quick! Flashpelt is having her kits!"

**I promise that the other chapters will get better. I'm really busy right now, so I don't have much time to update. Sorry about that.**


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